IRVINE, Calif. – Aug. 24, 2007 – Wisconsin reported 1,247 foreclosure filings in July, a 35 percent increase for the previous month, and a 117 percent increase from July 2006, according to the latest RealtyTrac® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1 million properties from nearly 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal.

“Wisconsin foreclosures have increased both last month and from this time last year,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Statistics show that the state’s home price appreciation rate was below the national average during the past year. This may be contributing to the overall rise.”

Wisconsin ranked 23rd in the country in total foreclosures reported for the month The state’s foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 2,004 households ranked it 26th among the 50 states.

Five counties account for bulk of state activity

Total foreclosure filings in five Wisconsin counties accounted for 67 percent of the state’s activity in July. MilwaukeeCounty reported 550 foreclosure filings, the most of any county for the month. BrownCounty was second, reporting 85 filings for the month. RacineCounty reported the third highest county total, 82 filings, followed by fourth place DaneCounty, with 72 foreclosure filings in the foreclosure pipeline. WaukeshaCounty reported the fifth highest total with 51 foreclosure filings.

MilwaukeeCounty posts highest foreclosure rate

MilwaukeeCounty reported the highest county foreclosure rate in the state for July, with a rate of one foreclosure filing for every 736 households — 2.7 times the state average. WaupacaCounty posted the second highest foreclosure rate, with one foreclosure filing for every 817 households — 2.5 times the state average. DodgeCounty posted the third highest foreclosure rate, with one foreclosure filing for every 878 households — 2.3 times the state average. RacineCounty came in fourth with a foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 965 households — 2.1 times the state average. Saint CroixCounty rounded out the state’s top five with a rate of one foreclosure filing for every 1,038 households — 1.93 times the state average.

State contributes 1 percent to nation’s monthly total

Total foreclosure filings in Wisconsin accounted for 1 percent of the 179,599 foreclosure filings nationwide in July. The national total was up 9 percent from the previous month and up 93 percent from July 2006. The nation’s foreclosure rate increased to one foreclosure filing for every 693 U.S. households for the month.

The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of foreclosure filings — both nationwide and by state — over the preceding month. RealtyTrac’s report includes properties in all three phases of foreclosure: Defaults — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auctions — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank).

For current news and information regarding foreclosure-related issues and trends, check out our blog at www.ForeclosurePulse.com.

Ranked as the third largest real estate site by MediaMetrix, and No. 53 on Inc. magazine’s 2006 Inc. 500 list of the nation’s fastest growing private companies, RealtyTrac Inc. (www.realtytrac.com), is the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, providing all the resources that home seekers, investors and real estate agents need to locate, evaluate and buy properties below market value.

Founded in 1996, RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, For Sale By Owner, resale and new homes, with more than 1.3 million properties across the country, property reports, productivity tools and extensive professional resources. RealtyTrac hosts nearly 3 million unique visitors monthly and has been chosen to supply foreclosure data to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and the Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal. For more information, visit (www.realtytrac.com).

About RealtyTrac

RealtyTrac® is the leading provider of comprehensive housing data and analytics for the real estate and financial services industries, Federal, state and local governments, academic institutions, and the media. Data is aggregated from parcel-level records of more than 125 million U.S. residential and commercial properties and delivered through customizable products including bulk file licensing, APIs and custom reports.